This blog is based on references in the Bible to fear. God wills that we “BE NOT AFRAID”. Vincit qui se vincit" is a Latin phrase meaning "He conquers who conquers himself." Many theologians state that the eighth deadly sin is fear. It is fear and its natural animal reaction to fight or flight that is the root cause of our failings to create a Kingdom of God on earth. This blog is dedicated to Mary the Mother of God. "
CRY DANGER (1951)
Dick Powell • Rhonda Fleming
A lean, sardonic Los Angeles noir where an ex‑con walks out of San Quentin with nothing but a dry wit, a bad alibi, and a determination to clear his name — only to find that the truth is more dangerous than the crime.
1. Production & Historical Setting
Released in 1951, directed by Robert Parrish, shot in sharp, high‑contrast black‑and‑white on a tight RKO budget, and filmed largely on real Bunker Hill locations — a vanished Los Angeles of stairways, trailer courts, and neon‑lit bars.
The film emerges from a post‑WWII America wrestling with:
Disillusionment with institutions — police, courts, and wartime promises
The rise of location noir, moving crime stories out of studio sets and into real streets
A shift toward hard, unsentimental protagonists shaped by wartime trauma
Hollywood’s fascination with the morally ambiguous ex‑GI navigating a corrupt city
Dick Powell plays Rocky Mulloy — dry, wounded, and razor‑sharp after five years in San Quentin for a robbery he insists he didn’t commit.
Rhonda Fleming plays Nancy, the luminous but conflicted wife of Rocky’s imprisoned best friend.
Richard Erdman plays Delong, a one‑legged Marine whose humor masks desperation — one of noir’s great supporting turns.
The world is trailer parks, cheap whiskey, and the moral fog of postwar Los Angeles — a perfect crucible for betrayal.
2. Story Summary
Rocky Mulloy is unexpectedly released from prison when Delong, a disabled Marine he barely knows, suddenly provides an alibi. Rocky heads straight to Los Angeles to:
Clear his name
Find the real thieves
Reclaim the life stolen from him
But nothing is clean:
The police still think he’s guilty
The criminals think he’s after the missing robbery money
Nancy, the woman he once loved, is tied to the past in ways he doesn’t want to see
What follows is a taut sequence of:
Barroom interrogations
Double‑crosses
Shadowed meetings in trailer courts
A tightening noose of suspicion
Rocky discovers that the robbery money is still in play — and that the people closest to him may be the ones who betrayed him. The final confrontation forces him to choose between vengeance, truth, and the last remnants of loyalty.
3. Spiritual & Moral Resonances
A. Innocence Under Suspicion
Rocky’s suffering is unjust, but it strips him down to the essentials — truth, loyalty, and endurance.
B. Loyalty as a Costly Virtue
His fidelity to his imprisoned friend becomes the film’s moral axis, even when that loyalty wounds him.
C. Temptation of the Crooked Path
The stolen money is always within reach; Rocky refuses the shortcut that would poison his soul.
D. Wounded Men Seeking Dignity
Delong’s humor hides despair; Rocky’s dryness hides pain. Both fight to retain a shred of honor.
E. Truth Requires Sacrifice
The final revelations demand that Rocky give up the life he imagined in order to live with a clean conscience.
4. Hospitality Pairing — The Ex‑Con’s Table
Rye whiskey neat — dry, sharp, unsentimental
Black coffee in a metal mug — the taste of a man who’s slept in too many hard places
Salted peanuts or pretzels — barroom rations for men who don’t linger
Dim lamp, open window, night air — the atmosphere of a trailer court perched above a city that doesn’t care
A setting for nights when you want to examine betrayal, endurance, and the discipline of refusing the easy lie.
5. Reflection Prompts
Where am I tempted to reclaim what was taken from me by force rather than by truth?
Whose loyalty have I taken for granted — or misjudged?
What compromises look small but would bend my character out of shape?
Where do I need Rocky’s dryness, Delong’s courage, or Nancy’s honesty?
What part of my past still shadows my present — and needs to be faced without illusion?
Martyrdom in May is not a theme but a progression. These four films form a single ascent: a man learns to see rightly, to love faithfully, to surrender vengeance, and finally to offer his life without reserve. A Short Film About Love begins the month by stripping desire of its illusions; it shows how distorted longing must die before any true gift of self can emerge. Make Way for Tomorrow then reveals the quiet crucifixion of fidelity — the kind of daily, hidden sacrifice that forms the backbone of every Eucharistic life. By the time Ben‑Hur arrives, the pattern is unmistakable: the blood of Christ breaks the cycle of retaliation and reorders the heart toward mercy.
The month culminates in The Passion of Joan of Arc, where the interior work becomes visible witness. Joan stands before her judges with nothing left to protect, her face becoming the icon of a soul fully offered. In her, the Eucharistic mystery reaches its final clarity: a life consumed in obedience, a body given up, a will aligned with God’s. The May sequence teaches that martyrdom is not an event but a formation — the slow, disciplined shaping of a man into something that can be placed on the altar and broken for others.
A SHORT FILM ABOUT LOVE (1988)
Grażyna Szapołowska • Olaf Lubaszenko
A stark, ascetical meditation on longing, innocence, and the moral cost of seeing another person without knowing how to love them.
1. Production & Historical Setting
Released in 1988, directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski, photographed in the muted, winter‑gray palette of late‑Communist Warsaw, and expanded from Dekalog: Six — the sixth entry in Kieślowski’s Ten Commandments cycle.
bing.com
The film emerges from a Poland wrestling with:
Moral exhaustion after decades of political repression
Urban isolation in the concrete geometry of socialist housing blocks
A growing cinematic appetite for interiority rather than ideology
Kieślowski’s shift from political filmmaking to metaphysical inquiry
Grażyna Szapołowska plays Magda — a woman hardened by betrayal and emotional scarcity.
Olaf Lubaszenko plays Tomek — a 19‑year‑old postal worker whose naïve devotion becomes a mirror to her cynicism.
The world is windows, courtyards, and the cold distance between two apartments — a perfect crucible for examining desire stripped of sentimentality.
2. Story Summary
Tomek, lonely and inexperienced, watches Magda each night through a telescope. His voyeurism is not predatory but devotional — an attempt to witness a life warmer than his own.
Wikipedia
Magda, accustomed to men who use her, initially mocks Tomek’s innocence. But when she realizes the purity of his longing, the dynamic fractures:
A false accusation
A humiliating encounter
A crisis of conscience
A collapse of her emotional armor
Tomek’s wound — inflicted by Magda’s attempt to “teach him about love” — forces her to confront the emptiness of her own life.
In the film’s altered ending (distinct from Dekalog: Six), Magda imagines seeing the world through Tomek’s eyes — a moment of grace where she finally understands what he offered: not desire, but reverence.
Wikipedia
3. Spiritual & Moral Resonances
A. Love Without Possession
Tomek’s longing exposes the difference between wanting someone and wanting their good.
B. Cynicism Is a Form of Poverty
Magda’s emotional detachment is revealed as a wound, not a strength.
C. Innocence Can Be Prophetic
Tomek’s purity forces Magda to confront the moral bankruptcy of her relationships.
D. Seeing Is Not the Same as Knowing
Voyeurism becomes a metaphor for modern relationships — proximity without communion.
E. Grace Arrives Through Humiliation
Magda’s transformation begins only when she recognizes the harm she has done.
4. Hospitality Pairing — The Winter Window Table
Polish vodka, served cold — clarity, austerity, the burn of truth
Dark rye bread with butter and coarse salt — monastic simplicity
A single candle — the fragile warmth Tomek seeks
A small metal cup — the humility of a life without ornament
A quiet room — this is a film that demands stillness, not company
A setting for nights when you want to examine desire, purity, and the cost of being truly seen.
5. Reflection Prompts
Where do I confuse watching someone’s life with entering it?
What part of me has grown cynical to protect an old wound?
Where does innocence in my life still speak with authority?
What relationships in my world are built on proximity rather than communion?
What would it mean to see another person with reverence rather than appetite?
Here is Smoke – Monday, May 4 placed cleanly into the May 2026 Twilight Companion, using your established cadence and the purgatorial weight of St. Lidwina’s vision. I keep it masculine, ascetical, and formation‑driven—no sentimentality, no soft edges.
Mon, May 4 – Smoke Reflection
Virtue: Sobriety of Judgment Cigar: Dark, honest (Broadleaf) Bourbon: Old Grand‑Dad 114 – severe, clarifying Reflection: “What false comfort do I still cling to?”
Meditation:
St. Lidwina was shown the outskirts of Purgatory as a fortress of punishment—walls of monstrous stone, blackened and towering, a place where even the noise was unbearable: lamentation, iron, blows, the chaos of justice without disguise. She could not bear to look inside. The angel did not soften it for her.
Then she saw an angel seated in sorrow beside a well—the guardian of a soul undergoing a special Purgatory, a depth reserved for a sinner whose purification required isolation, precision, and fire.
This is the masculine lesson:
There are prisons we build for ourselves long before God ever permits one for our purification. There are depths we dig with our habits, our evasions, our pride. And there are angels who wait beside them—not to excuse us, but to witness our return to truth.
Twilight Question: What hidden chamber of my life still needs to be opened to the light?
So,
Saul FEARED David all the more and
was his enemy ever after.
David
was pursued by Saul, but David never returned the enemy status to Saul. No,
David knew our only enemy is anything that opposes the love of God. Saul was
seduced by the world, the flesh and the devil. These are our enemies. Love
brings unity in its truest form. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not three
but one and one in Love. This unity of love is reflected in married life and
the life of the religious.
Copilot’s Take
Saul’s fear is the mark of
a man who has already surrendered interior ground. The moment he loses the fear
of the Lord, he begins to fear the strength of another man. David, by contrast,
refuses to return enmity because he knows the real enemy is never flesh and
blood. The CCC teaches that evil is not a rival power to God but a distortion
of the good, born of disordered freedom and exploited by the devil, whose
influence is real but limited. Saul collapses because he fights the wrong
battle. David stands because he fights the right one.
The Catechism is clear:
moral evil begins in the heart, where intention, object, and circumstance
determine the truth of an act. Some acts are always evil, and no imagined good
can justify them. This is where Saul fails. He tries to secure his kingdom by
force, deception, and fear — the very tools that destroy a man from within.
David refuses those weapons. He will not grasp what God has not given. His
restraint is not passivity; it is spiritual clarity.
The CCC also teaches that
God permits evil only to draw forth a greater good, and that Christ’s victory
has already broken the devil’s power. This means confronting evil is not a duel
of equals. It is the work of a man who stands inside a victory already won.
Evil is resisted by truth, not theatrics; by obedience, not bravado; by
humility, not self‑assertion. David embodies this. He does not fear Saul
because he fears God. He does not hate Saul because he hates sin. That is the
difference between a man who becomes an enemy-maker and a man who becomes a
vessel of God’s strength.
Confronting evil, then,
begins with interior conversion. A man must name the real enemies: the world
that seduces, the flesh that weakens, the devil who accuses. These forces
fracture unity, distort desire, and turn brothers into rivals. The Trinity reveals
the opposite: perfect unity, perfect love, perfect order. Marriage and
religious life echo this unity when they refuse to treat each other as
adversaries and instead fight the true enemies together. Unity is not softness;
it is disciplined resistance to division.
Saul feared David because
the Lord was with David. But David feared only the Lord — and therefore feared
nothing else. That is the CCC’s pattern for confronting evil: stand in the
truth, refuse to cooperate with sin, and let God’s victory shape your courage.
A man who knows who the real enemy is becomes dangerous to darkness. A man who
forgets becomes dangerous to everyone around him.
Saint Florian[1]is the patron saint of firefighters, and many things associated with either fire or
water. His feast day is celebrated today.
Saint
Florian was born in
the mid-third century A.D., perhaps around the year 250, somewhere around
current-day Austria. He rose through the Roman army ranks to become a
commander. Besides his duties to the military, he was charged with leading the
firefighting brigade of the day. Florian was a Christian in a time when the
Roman emperors were trying to eliminate Christianity throughout their realm. At
one point he was ordered to offer up a sacrifice to the Roman gods, something
in which he did not believe. Other stories state that he refused to participate
in the ongoing persecution of Christians, in which the army had been ordered to
participate.
In either case, Florian's
beliefs became known. When questioned, he again stated that he was a Christian.
The popular method of disposing of Christians in that day was to burn them to
death, and it was suggested that Florian suffer the same fate. He, however,
stated his intention to "climb to Heaven on the flames"
of the funeral pyre being prepared for him. The soldiers decided at that point
to dispense with him via another route: he was flogged, then flayed, then a
large stone was tied around his neck and he was thrown into the Ennis River to
drown. A faithful lady recovered and buried his body, which was later moved to
the Augustinian Abbey of St. Florian, near current-day Linz, Austria. In 1138
some of St. Florian's relics were given to King Casimir of Poland and
the Bishop of Cracow. Since his relics arrived in Poland, he has been regarded
as the patron saint of that country. Because of his association with fire, St.
Florian is the patron saint of firefighters and chimney sweeps and has been
invoked for protection from both fire and water. A statue of St. Florian
installed at the front of the main firehouse in Vienna, Austria survived a 1945
bombing with barely a scratch.
Please
pray the Stations
of the Cross for our firefighters from 911 and
The Yarnell HillFirefighters;
which were lost in a wildfire near Yarnell, Arizona, ignited by lightning on
June 28, 2013. On June 30, it overran and killed 19 City of Prescott
firefighters, members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots.
It was the third deadliest U.S. wildfire since the 1991 East Bay Hills fire,
which killed 25 people; and the 2017 Northern California wildfires, which
killed over 40, the deadliest wildland fire for U.S. firefighters since the
1933 Griffith Park Fire, which killed 29; and the deadliest incident of any
kind for U.S. firefighters since the September 11, 2001, attacks, which killed
343. It is the sixth-deadliest American firefighter disaster overall and the
deadliest wildfire ever in Arizona.
Bible in a
year Day 304 Life
Beyond Death
Fr. Mike focuses on the powerful theme that connects all of our
readings today- the reality of life beyond death. In the story of the martyrdom
of the seven brothers in 2 Macabees, we see how the brothers and their mother
fiercely reject the temptation to violate God's law, and boldly hold onto their
hope in the resurrection of the dead. Our readings from Wisdom also remind us
that death is not the end, because we know that eternal life is waiting for us
beyond death. Today's readings are 2 Maccabees 7, Wisdom 3-4, and Proverbs
24:27-29.
May 4th has become commonly known as Star Wars Day. And
who could be surprised? The words, “May the 4th” seem to beg the rest of the
catchphrase be uttered. Regardless of whether you prefer Star Wars or Star
Trek, or if are even a sci-fi aficionado at all, the influence of George Lucas’
Star Wars on pop culture is undeniable.
The History of Star Wars Day
Star
Wars, an epic space opera written and directed by George Lucas, premiered in
1977 and became an almost instant cult classic. Even today, almost 40 years
later, Star Wars remains one of the most financially successful films of all
time. The franchise it began remains the most successful one of all time,
earning over 2.5 billion dollars since the release of the first film. However,
the money it’s earned over the years is hardly the most impressive aspect of
Star Wars. As famous film critic Roger Ebert put it: “Like The Birth of a
Nation and Citizen Kane, Star Wars was a technical watershed that influenced
many of the movies that came after.” Star Wars was a real game-changer,
beginning a new era of special effect-packed motion pictures bursting with
excitement, adventure and imagination that appealed enormously to younger
audiences as well as older ones. Many of today’s most acclaimed film directors,
such as Peter Jackson, Ridley Scott, Christopher Nolan and James Cameron, cite
Star Wars as a great influence on their careers. Star Wars has also had
enormous cultural impact on other areas besides filmmaking, including
politics–the Reagan Administration’s Strategic Defense Program was mockingly
nicknamed “Star Wars”. As recently as 2013, President Barack Obama used the
phrase “Jedi mind meld” to describe what some people were expecting him to do
on his opposition to make them accept his ideas. “May the Fourth be with you”
was first used by Margaret Thatcher’s political party to congratulate her on
her election on May 4th, 1979, and the saying quickly caught on. However, the
first celebration of May 4th took place much later, at the Toronto Underground
Cinema in 2001. This first official Star Wars Day’s festivities included a
costume contest and a movie marathon. Fans’ favorite parodies of the franchise
were also enjoyed, as were some of the most popular mashups and remixes. Since
then, Star Wars Day has gained popularity and is celebrated by Star Wars Fans
worldwide.
How to Celebrate Star Wars Day
The
way you celebrate Star Wars day will depend on how well you know this cultural
phenomenon. If you are a longtime fan of the franchise, you might want to get a
group of friends together and attend one of the many Star Wars events organized
in different parts of the world. Such events range from costume contests to
museum exhibits to tours of space centers. And if you’re not feeling up to
going out, there’s no reason why a Star Wars Day party organized by you at home
should be any less fun. Movie marathons with friends, Star Wars trivia games
and even Star Wars themed snacks (Death Star piñata, anyone?) will guarantee
this day is full of fun as well as being very educational. “Vadering” another
person has also become an extremely popular thing to do on this day, and the
photos you take of this are sure to bring a smile to your face for years to
come. Because Star Wars itself is such an enormous topic, the ways of
celebrating the day dedicated to it are virtually endless. So, choose one, have
fun, and May the 4th be with you!
Around the Corner
·Today in honor of the Holy Trinity do the Divine Office giving
your day to God. To honor God REST: no shopping after 6 pm Saturday till
Monday. Don’t forget the internet.
·Eat waffles and
Pray for the assistance of the Angels
Sunday, May 3 Fifth Sunday of Easter Virtue Under the Knife: Fidelity & Purification
Tonight’s Pairing
Cigar: Broadleaf Maduro — earth, char, slow heavy smoke; the weight of consequence without despair Drink: Old Forester 1920 — high‑proof discipline, dark fruit and oak, a long stern finish Reason: today is about standing firm at the borderland where mercy burns hot
The Reflection
“He is there,” said her angel, “and he suffers much. Would you be willing to endure some pain in order to diminish his?”
“Certainly,” she replied. “I am ready to suffer anything to assist him.”
Instantly she was taken into a place of frightful torture.
She trembled.
“Is this hell, my brother?”
“No, sister,” the angel answered, “but this part of purgatory is bordering upon hell.”
That is the line every man must face:
the border where God’s mercy is still mercy,
but no longer gentle.
Purgatory is not punishment — it is precision.
It is the soul stripped of excuses.
It is the place where every tolerated fault becomes flame,
every neglected duty becomes iron,
every small compromise becomes weight.
The Broadleaf Maduro fits the moment:
dark, honest, unadorned —
the taste of a man who refuses to hide from his own unfinished work.
The 1920 matches it:
fire without rage,
heat without chaos,
the kind of burn that clarifies a man’s loyalties.
Christ says in today’s Gospel, “Remain in me.”
Not visit.
Not drift.
Remain.
The borderland teaches the same lesson:
A man who refuses discipline now
will learn it later under a harsher light.
Guard the soul.
Guard the habits.
Guard the small choices that build or break fidelity.
Purgatory Note
The souls she saw were not crushed by a single furnace but by many small ones,
because their faults were scattered across the whole field of life.
Their purification was relentless, not violent —
the slow correction of men who never learned to say no to themselves.
Better to take the strong smoke now.
Better to taste the high‑proof fire now.
Better to practice fidelity now — and not the next.
Insecure
people spend a lot of time on job justification.
Think
about it how much time do you or people you know spend in justifying rather
than striving to break free of fears and be all God has envisioned them to be?
Often insecure people are trapped in a cycle of fear
that retards their ability to give power and grace to others.
The Law
of Empowerment says that only secure leaders give power to others.
But
what does it mean to be secure?
Using
the analogy of personal finance, let’s look at what’s missing from the lives of
insecure leaders. This will help us better understand where security comes from
and why it matters.
Paupers,
debtors, and hoarders lack the real or perceived financial security necessary
to give generously to others.
Paupers have no source of income aside
from the financial assistance they receive from someone else. Penniless and
dependent, they’re clearly unable to help others financially.
Leaders without purpose are like paupers. They have no passion, low energy,
and little drive to grow in influence. Usually, their only source of power is
the position they have been given by somebody else. In terms of personal
authority, they’re impoverished.
Debtors
may have nice
salaries, but their expenses exceed their income. They’ve maxed out credit
cards and taken out hefty loans. Consequently, they’re stuck paying exorbitant
interest rates on the amounts they have borrowed. In an upside-down financial
situation, they’re in no position to give generously to others.
Leaders without authenticity are like debtors. Someone deeply in debt may appear
wealthy, even though they’re secretly on the verge of bankruptcy. The closer
you inspect their life, the more signs of dysfunction you see. Similarly,
inauthentic leaders may seem to have all the tools to lead with excellence.
However, they are missing the crucial component of moral authority. They do not
practice the values they preach, and they prefer to keep others at arm’s length
to hide their shortcomings.
Hoarders are sitting on a pile of wealth,
but they think only of protecting it rather than of sharing it with others.
They have plentiful resources but are unwilling to part with them.
Leaders without humility
resemble hoarders.
Having put their talents to work, they enjoy a significant amount of power.
However, they’re worried about others taking it from them or gaining more of it
than they have. So, instead of using their influence to empower others, they
keep it for their own benefit.
As
leaders, we can only lift others up when we’re standing on a firm foundation.
Purpose, authenticity, and humility give us a secure, stable base from which to
lead.
Purpose is the answer to the question: why
do you want to lead? The best leaders have a purpose that is greater than they
are. Their “why” involves more than accumulating money or seeking
self-actualization. They see leadership as a calling rather than a career,
relishing the opportunity to use their unique talents to accomplish something
significant that will outlive them.
Authenticity means being comfortable in your
own skin. Authentic leaders have self-awareness, self-respect, self-confidence,
and emotional maturity. They prize integrity above image, and they seek to
build trust with others on the basis of their personal character.
Humility is often wrongly associated with
depreciating and downgrading ourselves. However, true humility flows out of
gratitude and comes when we credit God for our blessings and others for our
successes. As Rick Warren teaches, a humble leader doesn’t deny his strengths;
he’s simply honest about his limitations. Humble leaders feel no need to
trumpet their status, are unthreatened by criticism, and revel in the
accomplishments of others. They put their pride aside so that others have room
to shine.
Modern man at times out of an
inability to cope with the stress of everyday life seeks relief via the vices
of sex, drugs and rock and roll. I wonder what would happen to our world if
instead of dealing with stress with the distractions of pleasure and entertainment;
we acknowledged our dependence on the grace of God; found our purpose and had
true gratitude for our blessings.
Copilot’s Take
The Catechism teaches that evil gains its first
foothold not in the battlefield but in the interior disorder of the human
heart. “The whole of man’s history has been the story of dour combat with
the powers of evil” (CCC 409). Saul is a case study in this truth. His
collapse did not begin with David’s victories—it began with the disordered fear
that replaced his fear of God. Once a man fears losing his own throne more than
he fears offending the Lord, he becomes vulnerable to every spiritual
distortion: envy, suspicion, resentment, and finally violence. Evil does not need
to overthrow such a man; it only needs to amplify what is already broken inside
him.
The Catechism also warns that sin darkens the intellect
and weakens the will (CCC 1865). That is exactly what happens to Saul. His
judgment becomes clouded. His discernment collapses. He interprets David’s
faithfulness as a threat and God’s blessing as a danger. This is the spiritual
blindness that accompanies insecurity: a man begins to misread reality because
he is no longer anchored in truth. Evil exploits this confusion. It whispers
that others are rivals, that success is scarce, that honor must be defended
rather than received from God. A leader who listens to these lies becomes a
danger to the very people he was meant to protect.
Confronting evil, then, begins with confronting the
interior disorder that gives evil room to operate. The Catechism calls this the
work of ongoing conversion (CCC 1428). It is not dramatic. It is not
public. It is the daily discipline of returning to God as the center of one’s
identity. A man who practices this conversion becomes resistant to the
corrosive effects of comparison and fear. He can celebrate the rise of others
because his worth is not measured by their success. He can empower others
because his authority is rooted in God, not in insecurity. This is why David
could wait for God’s timing while Saul could not.
The Catechism also teaches that courage—fortitude—is
the virtue that enables a man to stand firm in the face of difficulty (CCC
1808). Fortitude is not bravado; it is stability. It is the interior strength
that keeps a man from collapsing inward when pressure mounts. Saul lacked this
virtue because he lacked the foundation that produces it. David possessed it
because he feared God more than men. Evil cannot dominate a man who stands in
fortitude. It can tempt him, pressure him, and wound him, but it cannot rule
him. A secure leader is ungoverned by fear.
Finally, the Catechism insists that the Christian
confronts evil not with panic but with fidelity. “Do not be overcome by
evil, but overcome evil with good” (CCC 2848). This is the pattern David
lived. He refused to retaliate. He refused to seize the throne. He refused to
let Saul’s insecurity shape his own soul. He overcame Saul’s evil not by
mirroring it but by remaining faithful to God. This is the deepest mark of a
secure leader: he does not let another man’s disorder become his own.
Saul’s story is a warning. David’s story is a
blueprint. Evil advances wherever insecurity reigns, but it retreats wherever a
man stands on the unshakable foundation of purpose, authenticity, humility, and
fear of the Lord. That is the ground on which real leadership—and real
holiness—are built..
37.
As the Church journeys through time, the reference to Christ's Resurrection and
the weekly recurrence of this solemn memorial help to remind us of the
pilgrim and eschatological character of the People of God. Sunday after
Sunday the Church moves towards the final "Lord's Day", that Sunday
which knows no end. The expectation of Christ's coming is inscribed in the very
mystery of the Church and is evidenced in every Eucharistic celebration. But,
with its specific remembrance of the glory of the Risen Christ, the Lord's Day
recalls with greater intensity the future glory of his "return". This
makes Sunday the day on which the Church, showing forth more clearly her
identity as "Bride", anticipates in some sense the eschatological
reality of the heavenly Jerusalem. Gathering her children into the Eucharistic
assembly and teaching them to wait for the "divine Bridegroom", she
engages in a kind of "exercise of desire", receiving a foretaste of
the joy of the new heavens and new earth, when the holy city, the new
Jerusalem, will come down from God, "prepared as a bride adorned for her
husband" (Rev 21:2).
Fifth Sunday of Easter
The
liberty of the New Covenant and its perfection in prayer and the Spirit
The introit of the Mass is again a joyful thanksgiving for
our redemption. " Declare the voice of joy, and let it be heard, alleluia;
declare it even to the ends of the earth; the Lord hath delivered His people,
alleluia, alleluia" (Isaias xlviii. 20). " Shout with joy to God, all
the earth, sing ye a psalm to His name, give glory to His praise.
Prayer.
O
God, from Whom all good things proceed, grant to Thy suppliants that by Thy
inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by Thy direction
perform them.
EPISTLE. James i. 23-27.
Dearly
Beloved: Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only: deceiving your own
selves. But if a man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer: he shall be
compared to a man be holding his own countenance in a glass: for he beheld
himself, and went his way, and presently forgot what manner of man he was. But
he that hath looked into the perfect law of liberty, and hath continued
therein, not becoming a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man
shall be blessed in his deed. And if any man think himself to be religious, not
bridling his tongue, but deceiving his own heart, this man s religion is vain.
Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father, is this: to visit the
fatherless and widows in their tribulation: and to keep oneself unspoiled.
GOSPEL. John xvi. 23-30
At that time Jesus said to His disciples: Amen, amen
I say to you: if you ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it you.
Hitherto you have not asked anything in My name: ask, and you shall receive,
that your joy may be full. These things I have spoken to you in proverbs. The
hour cometh when I will no more speak to you in proverbs, but will show you
plainly of the Father: in that day you shall ask in My name: and I say not to
you, that I will ask the Father for you: for the Father Himself loveth you,
because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came
forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again I leave the world and
I go to the Father. His disciples say to Him: Behold now Thou speakest plainly,
and speakest no proverb; now we know that Thou knowest all things, and Thou
needest not that any man should ask Thee. By this we believe that Thou comest
forth from God.
The most effective means of acquiring true Christian
spirituality is through participation in the Mass.[3]
PHILIP,
born at Bethsaida, was one of the first followers of Our Lord. After receiving
the Holy Ghost he preached the Gospel in Scythia and Phrygia (Turkey, Syria and
Iran), converting great numbers to the faith, and was finally crucified and
then stoned at Hierapolis, in Phrygia.
JAMES,
the son of Cleophas, called the Less, and on account of his sanctity surnamed
the Just, and for his kinship with Christ known as His brother, was, with his
brother Judas Thaddeus, chosen an apostle in the second year of Christ’s
ministry. St. James was the first Bishop of Jerusalem. One day, being requested
to preach against Christ, he publicly proclaimed Him to be the Messiah, in Whom
men were bound to believe, at which the Jewish priests became so enraged that
they threw him down from a pinnacle of the temple, cast stones upon him, and
finally killed him outright with a fuller’s rod (tool used in wool making)
The
Introit of the Mass is as follows: "In the time of their tribulation they
cried to Thee, O Lord, and Thou heardest them from heaven. Rejoice in the Lord,
ye just; praise becometh the upright."
Prayer.
O
God, Who givest us joy by the annual solemnity of Thy apostles Philip and
James, grant, we beseech Thee, that we may be instructed by the example of
those in whose merits we rejoice. Amen
Prayer to St. Philip.
O St.
Philip, chosen disciple of the Lord, who brought Nathaniel to Christ, who most
zealously preached thy Lord, Jesus Christ, and out of love to Him willingly
gave thyself to be nailed to the cross, and put to death, obtain, I beseech
thee, for me, and for all men, grace with zeal to bring others to the practice
of good works, to have a great desire after God and His truths, and, in hope of
the eternal blissful contemplation of God, to bear patiently the adversities
and miseries of this life. Amen.
Prayer to St. James.
O St.
James, who lived so temperately and strictly, who, like thy master, prayed so
earnestly and constantly for thy tormentors, I beseech thee that thou wouldst
procure us from Jesus’ grace, after thy example, to live sober and penitential
lives, and to worship God in spirit and in truth. Obtain for us, therefore, the
spirit with which thou didst write thine epistle, that we may follow thy
doctrine, be diligent in good works, and, like thee, love and pray for our
enemies. Amen.
·The
mother of St James, Mary was either a sister or a close relative of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, and for that reason, according to Jewish custom, he was sometimes
called the brother of Jesus.
·In
the Orthodox Church, St. James is commemorated on October 22. St. Philip
is revered on November 14.
·The
Roman Catholic feast day of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles, is held May 3.
It honors James, traditionally considered to be the brother of Jesus, and
Philip, considered by scripture to be one of Jesus' earliest disciples (John:
1:43).
·Philip
teaches us ... to let ourselves be won over by Jesus, to be with him and also
to invite others to share in this indispensable company; and in seeing, finding
God, to find true life. - St. Benedict XVI
St James TL/St Philip Top Events
and Things to Do
·Read
the Epistle of James. This is a letter that addresses several problems
occurring in the early church involving the rich, lack of humility, and other
issues.
·Read
the first chapter of the Gospel of John. Philip invites others to come
and see what Jesus was teaching, a common theme in the Gospel of John.
·Bake
a pastry in honor of St. Philip since he is the patron saint of bakers.
·Say
a prayer for the dying in honor of St. James, who is the patron saint of those
living their last days of mortal life.
Feast of the Finding of the Holy
Cross
MAY 3
Why is this day so called?
Because on this day the Church celebrates the
finding by St. Helena, mother of the emperor Constantine, of the cross on which
Christ died, after it had been for a long time lost.
Where had the holy cross been up to the time that it
was thus found again?
At Jerusalem, near the holy sepulcher, hidden under
a mass of rubbish. For the Emperor Adrian endeavored not only to desecrate the
holy places of the death and burial of Jesus Christ, but also to hide the very
knowledge of them. The cave of the holy sepulcher was filled up, and by the
erection of a temple of Venus, built over the spot, came to be quite lost sight
of.
Prayer.
O God, "Who, in the miraculous finding of the
saving cross, didst revive the miracles of Thy passion, grant that, by the
ransom paid on the wood of life, we may obtain the suffrages of life eternal.
Amen
Salutation of the Church to
the Holy Cross.
O glorious and venerable cross! O precious wood! O
wonderful sign, by which sin, the devil, and hell were overcome, and the world
redeemed through the blood of Christ, thou art exalted above all the cedars of
the forest, for on thee hung the life of the world! On thee Christ gained the
victory, and by His dying overcame death forever. Alleluia. O Lord Jesus
Christ, we adore and bless Thee; for through Thy cross Thou hast redeemed the
world.
ON THE SIGN OF THE CROSS.
Why do we sign ourselves with the sign of the cross?
1.To testify that we are Christians and worshippers of
the Crucified.
2.To profess our faith in the Most Holy Trinity.
3.In honor and thankful remembrance of the sufferings
and death of Christ.
4.In order to overcome the devil and his temptations,
inasmuch as he is by nothing more easily driven away than by the sign of the
cross.
Is it an old custom to make the sign of the cross?
The earliest fathers of the Church make mention of
this custom and say that it came to them from the apostles; nay, they charge
Christians to make the sign of the cross at eating and drinking, at walking and
rising, at sitting and speaking, and, in a word, before every undertaking.
Why do the priests at divine service make the sign
of the cross over the people?
That therewith there may be imparted to Christians
the abundant blessing of grace which Christ has obtained for us by His cross,
as St. Paul says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who
hath blessed us with spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ"
(Eph. i. 3). This custom is of great antiquity in the Church. The Council of
Agde, for example, in the year 506, directed that after prayers the people
should be dismissed by the priest with a blessing.
Fr. Mike offers a recap of Eleazar's martyrdom and marvels at
Eleazar's courage to avoid both sin, and the temptation to lead others into
sin. As we begin reading the book of Wisdom today, we also learn three valuable
lessons; God did not create death, death entered the world through sin, and we
are wise when we walk in the truth but foolish when we walk in evil. Today's
readings are 2 Maccabees 6, Wisdom 1-2, and Proverbs 24:21-26.
Hail,
Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do
we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, O most gracious
Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this, our exile, show unto
us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin
Mary.
Lead: Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. Response: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Around
the Corner
·Today in honor of the Holy Trinity do the Divine Office giving
your day to God. To honor God REST: no shopping after 6 pm Saturday till
Monday. Don’t forget the internet.
O Glorious Queen of Heaven and Earth, Virgin Most
Powerful, thou who hast the power to crush the head of the ancient serpent with
thy heel, come and exercise this power flowing from the grace of thine
Immaculate Conception. Shield us under the mantle of thy purity and love, draw
us into the sweet abode of thy heart and annihilate and render impotent the
forces bent on destroying us. Come Most Sovereign Mistress of the Holy Angels
and Mistress of the Most Holy Rosary, thou who from the very beginning hast received
from God the power and the mission to crush the head of Satan. Send forth thy
holy legions, we humbly beseech thee, that under thy command and by thy power
they may pursue the evil spirits, counter them on every side, resist their bold
attacks and drive them far from us, harming no one on the way, binding
them to the foot of the Cross to be judged and sentenced by Jesus Christ Thy
Son and to be disposed of by Him as He wills.
St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, come to our
aid in this grave battle against the forces of darkness, repel the attacks of
the devil and free the members of the Auxilium Christianorum, and those for
whom the priests of the Auxilium Christianorum pray, from the strongholds of
the enemy.
St. Michael, summon the entire heavenly court to engage
their forces in this fierce battle against the powers of hell. Come O Prince of
Heaven with thy mighty sword and thrust into hell Satan and all the other evil
spirits. O Guardian Angels, guide and protect us. Amen.
Things to do this Weekend.
·Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival—Take
in the small-town charm of Winchester, VA, in this 6-day celebration of spring.
First held in 1924, the annual festival packs a wallop of more than 30 events
into its lineup: band competitions, dances, parades, carnival, a 10K race, the
coronation of Queen Shenandoah and so much more, attracting crowds in excess of
250,000.
Robert Mitchum • Curt Jürgens
A taut, ascetical naval duel where two commanders — American and German — confront not only each other but the moral weight of command under fire. bing.com
1. Production & Historical Setting
Released in 1957, directed by Dick Powell, shot in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope, and based on the 1956 novel by British naval officer Denys Rayner. bing.com
The film emerges from a post‑WWII America wrestling with:
Cold War anxieties and the need to re‑examine wartime leadership
A shift toward moral complexity in war cinema
Growing respect for the “professional enemy” — men fighting for duty, not ideology
Hollywood’s move toward realism in naval and submarine warfare
Robert Mitchum plays Lt. Cmdr. Murrell — wounded, doubted, and forced to command through pain. Curt Jürgens plays Kapitän von Stolberg — a seasoned officer who despises the Nazi regime but refuses to abandon his post.
The world is steel corridors, sonar rooms, and the claustrophobic geometry of submarine warfare — a perfect crucible for conscience.
2. Story Summary
In the South Atlantic, the American destroyer escort USS Haynes hunts a German U‑boat. Murrell, newly in command and still recovering from injuries after being adrift for 21 days, must earn the trust of a skeptical crew. Wikipedia
Below the surface, von Stolberg commands a disciplined crew while quietly resisting the ideology he serves.
What follows is a cat‑and‑mouse duel:
depth‑charge attacks
evasive maneuvers
psychological feints
tactical patience
Each captain studies the other’s mind as much as his ship.
Murrell eventually deceives the U‑boat into surfacing, rams it, and both vessels are mortally wounded. In the final moments, Murrell rescues von Stolberg and his dying executive officer — an act of respect between men who have judged each other worthy. Wikipedia
3. Spiritual & Moral Resonances
A. Leadership Is Judgment Under Fire
Both commanders act with clarity, not emotion — the mark of mature authority.
B. Honor Can Survive Opposing Flags
Von Stolberg’s decency exposes the difference between a regime and the men trapped within it.
C. Suffering Purifies Motive
Murrell’s injuries strip him of bravado; what remains is duty.
D. War Reveals the Soul, Not Just Strategy
The duel is less about tactics and more about the moral architecture of each man.
E. Mercy Is the Final Victory
The rescue scene is not sentimentality — it is the triumph of character over circumstance.
4. Hospitality Pairing — The Captain’s Table
Broadleaf Maduro cigar — earth, char, slow burn; the taste of a man who carries weight
Navy‑strength gin or high‑proof bourbon — clean fire, no sweetness, the discipline of clarity
Tin cup on a steel table — the austerity of command
Salted hardtack — the ration of men who endure
Single lantern light — the narrow beam of conscience in a world of pressure and depth
A setting for nights when you want to examine command, conscience, and the cost of decisions made in silence.
5. Reflection Prompts
Where am I leading from pain rather than from clarity?
Do I respect the dignity of those I oppose?
What predictable patterns in my life allow the enemy to strike?
Where do I need to act with Murrell’s discipline or Stolberg’s restraint?
What part of my soul is still underwater — waiting to surface?
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